Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates the area’s art, history, culture and people through live theatre, music, workshops and more.
The festival typically runs from the end of October to early November. It features over 100 events in 12 days. Some of the events are ticketed while others are free. One of the headlining events last year was a concert with The Sojourners on Sunday, November 10th. Artists in that group included Marcus Mosely, Khari McClelland and Will Sanders.
The festival’s dates for 2025 are to be confirmed.
Continue reading or visit the Heart of the City Festival‘s official website for details about the events.
This article contains the following information about the Heart of the City Festival:
Dates and Locations | Festival Activities | Events Schedule | About the Festival | Other Information
DTES Heart of the City Festival
The annual Heart of the City Festival shares traditions, art forms and stories about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). Local organizations partner with the festival and help organize events such as readings, musical performances, galleries, talks and celebrations.
The theme last year was “Threads of Connections.” 2025 is the 22nd anniversary of the festival, and the 42nd anniversary of Vancouver Moving Theatre which is one of the lead organizers of the festival.
Vancouver Moving Theatre presents the festival in partnership with the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, the Carnegie Community Centre, and several other community partners.
Festival Dates and Locations
All events are typically held throughout Vancouver’s DTES. The festival has had a mix of in-person and online events over the past several years.
This year will be no different. Most of the events are in person but there are some that are online-only too. Last year’s festival closed with a rousing gospel singing performance by local group The Sojourners.
Festival Activities
There are usually multiple events taking place each day, many of which are free or by donation. Events include music, theatre, poetry, film, dance, multimedia, visual arts, history walks, workshops and panel discussions.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Below were most of the events scheduled for the festival in 2024. Exact details were subject to change. The schedule may look similar this year, though details are to be confirmed. See the DTES Heart of the City Festival‘s website for more information, including info about other events this year.
Wednesday, October 30th, 2024
- Festival Opening Ceremony: A celebratory and community-focused day of fun held at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre at 401 Main Street that began at 2:00 pm. Admission was free. Guests included Chinese Canadian rapper Scope G, violinist Leonard Chokroun and grass dancers Larissa Healey and Pavel Desjarlais.
- Other events that happened on this day were the Saint James Music Academy Open House, DTES Front and Centre: Weaving Strands of Courage and Connection (Music), Typewriter Tales (Writing) and Belongings Matter: Warren Gill Lecture (Conversation).
Thursday, October 31st, 2024
- This day featured Art Jam Piano Decorating, DTES Writers Collective Halloween Edition (Readings), Bells of St. James’ (Music), Carnegie Halloween Dance, Alan Zisman Awards & Evil Cult Singalong (Music), Solemn Requiem For All Souls’ (Music), and Halloween Pumpkin Carving.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Friday, November 1st, 2024
- La Llorona: A Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) event with singing, show puppetry and dancing. This celebration of Latin culture was free to attend. The event started at 7:00 pm at Carnegie Community Centre Theatre.
- IronFest: An annual set of jazz concerts at The Iron Works at 235 Alexander Street in Vancouver. The Asrar Quartet and the Jessica Ackerley Trio played on this day. The event began at 8:30 pm and tickets cost about $35 each.
- Chinatown Stories Audio Tour: Audio tours of Chinatown while listening to conversations recorded between five intergenerational family pairs. These very personal stories touched on important places and events in the area’s history. The tours were free to take and they began at Chimerik Chinatown Art Space at 155-288 East Georgia Street. The tour on this day ran from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
- Other events included the Dia De Los Muertos Ofrenda Workshop, Why Bach Matters (Music), Wayfaring Stranger (Film), Bill Reid Gallery Open House, Famous Last Words Halloween Edition (Comedy), and more.
Saturday, November 2nd, 2024
- Dia De Los Muertos Festival: A Day of the Dead celebration with Ancestral Foodways featuring music, dance, food, altars and more. It was an event honoring and remembering those who have passed away. The event took place from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Strathcona Park at 857 Malkin Avenue. It was open to the public.
- Chinatown Stories Audio Tour: Free audio tours of Chinatown beginning at the Chimerik Chinatown Art Space at 155-288 East Georgia Street. The tour on this day ran from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
- IronFest: An annual set of jazz concerts at The Iron Works at 235 Alexander Street in Vancouver. Kevin Romain and the Brodie West Quintet played on this day. The event began at 8:30 pm and tickets cost about $35 each.
- A Prop Master’s Dream: A fusion opera produced by the Vancouver Cantonese Opera. Its story was inspired by the real-life tale of Wah-Kwan Gwan, an opera performer and prop master who was born here to an Indigenous mother and Chinese father. There were performances at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets started at $45.
- Other events that happened on this day included The Mayor of Oz (Theatre), First Saturday Open Art Studios, Town Hall: Learning From Our Downtown Eastside Victories (Panel), Funny Side Up: Stand Up For Mental Health (Comedy), Heart of the City Poetry Slam, and the Old Shoreline Walking Tour with John Atkin and Jeff Wilson.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Sunday, November 3rd, 2024
- Chinatown Stories Audio Tour: Free audio tours of Chinatown while listening to personal conversations recorded between five intergenerational family pairs. The tour took place from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Chimerik Chinatown Art Space.
- Hearts Beat 2024: A combination of drumming and dancing with both local Indigenous and Irish cultures represented. The event was meant to bridge new connections between communities. It took place at the Carnegie Theatre at 401 Main Street and kicked off at 4:00 pm. Tickets were free.
- Other events on this day included the How We Could End Homelessness in the DTES Walking Tour, In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Community Play (Film), and Tapestry: A Concert of Song, Music, and Dance.
See the Heart of the City Festival‘s website for full details about last year’s series of events.
Tuesday, November 5th, 2024
- Resistance + Responses from the Sid Chow Tan Archives: An event that reflected on the vast archive of video journalism activism produced by the late Sid Chow Tan. VIVO Media Arts and Kwantlen Polytechnic University were presenting partners for this night of solidarity and knowledge sharing. The event was free, and it began at 6:30 pm at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre.
- There was also a film conversation about Ways of Being and Seeing, an Artist Meet and Greet at The Health Centre, Sweet Grass (Music), and The Gospel According to Townes Van Zandt (Theatre & Storytelling).
Wednesday, November 6th, 2024
- Town Hall: Uplifting or Gentrifying the DTES?: A panel discussion on whether the Vancouver City Council’s motion from last fall to dig into issues in the DTES would uplift the area. The free event was held at 7:00 pm at the Japanese Hall at 487 Alexander Street.
- This day also featured the Yinpin Native Chinese Orchestra (Music), a Neighbourhood Mandala Painting (Workshop), Typewriter Tales (Writing), St. James’ Anglican Church Tours, and more.
Thursday, November 7th, 2024
- The Big Tree: A multimedia, partially improved artistic performance that combined all sorts of mediums. There was music, dance, spoken word, the creation of new visual art and theatrical lighting. Tickets cost $28 for those who lived outside the community, and was free for those who lived in the DTES. The performance happened at KW Production Studio at 111 West Hastings Street at 7:00 pm.
- There was also the Symposium on Reconciliation & Redress (Dialogue), EWMA Drag Bingo, Cedar Bark Weaving (Workshop), Spontaneous Poetry (Writing), Speaking Words of Wisdom (Exhibition), a series of film screenings, and more.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Friday, November 8th, 2024
- This day featured Making Music at Carnegie (Workshop), Symposium on Reconciliation & Redress (Dialogue), Forgotten Voices/Silenced Stories (Workshop), Turn Back Time Karaoke, Muriel’s Journey Poetry Prize (Readings), and Never Be Done: The Richard Glen Lett Story (Film & Comedy).
Saturday, November 9th, 2024
- The Keep it Raw Cabaret: A tribute to the late Jay Hamburger, the founder of the Vancouver company Theatre in the Raw. The show included stand-up comedy, choral singing, and selections of Jay’s own poetry. The show started at 8:00 pm and took place at the Russian Hall at 600 Campbell Street. Admission was by donation (while tickets were available).
- River Stories/Ocean Song: A three-part event held at the Russian Hall, run by the Arrivals Legacy Project, which is an organization that encourages and supports artists to tap into their ancestral heritage. There was an Arrivals Personal Legacy workshop at 10:00 am, a collaborative presentation at 1:00 pm, and a creative sharing circle at 1:30 pm. Admission to all was by donation.
- Kin: AJ Simmons and Kelty McKerracher put on a show that combined flamenco with theatrical production techniques. They used both looping technology and live dance to create a visually unique show. The night began at 8:00 pm at the KW Production Studio. Tickets were free for those who lived in the community, and $23 for those outside of it.
- There was also Typwriter Tales (Writing), Mutt Dog (Music), Open Your Mouth and Say… Mr. Chi Pig (Film), Hakka Kirin Chinese Unicorn Dance Workshop, Water Workshop (Dance), and more.
Sunday, November 10th, 2024
- The Sojourners: A trio of gospel singers whose members include DTES resident Khari McClelland, as well as Marcus Mosely and Will Sanders. The group puts on powerful performances wherever they go, with a blend of blues, country and R&B. Like many other events at the festival, their show was free for those in the DTES, as they are longtime friends and supporters of the festival. This show started at 7:00 pm and takes place at St. James Church at 303 East Cordova Street.
- Two Amigos Walking Tour: Two local tour experts, John Atkin and Bob Sung, provided a very detailed and rich tour of the DTES and its history. Tickets were $23 for those outside the community and free for those inside it. The first tour ran from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, and the second from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.
- Other events on this day included the Minori Harvest Celebration, St James’ Anglican Church Open House, and an Indigenous Exhibition and Celebration.
Click Heart of the City Festival for tickets and the event’s official website.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
About the Festival
The DTES Heart of the City Festival is presented by the Vancouver Moving Theatre. In a typical year the event includes 100 or more events at as many as 40 different locations.
Vancouver Moving Theatre is a community-engaged arts organization that is based in the city’s Downtown Eastside. It creates original productions including Bah Humbug! which was an annual Christmas play that raised funds for the DTES Heart of the City Festival up until 2019.
The DTES is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, rich in culture and heritage, and the historic heart of the city.
Day Of the Dead Altar Video
November 2nd is known as the Day of the Dead in Mexico. It’s akin to Halloween, except with this festival, Mexicans celebrate the return of departed souls. It’s not a scary day (even though some of its decorations look kind of scary). The occasion is commemorated with Day of the Dead altars, which are called “Altars de los Muertos” in Spanish. People also dress up as “Catrinas” in skull-like makeup and skeleton costumes.
The video below is of a Day of the Dead Altar in downtown Vancouver during the Heart of the City Festival in 2020. The DTES festival sometimes coincides with Latin American Heritage Month which was celebrated in Vancouver from October 15th until November 3rd last year.
Other Information
See the Heart of the City Festival website for the most up-to-date information regarding the DTES festival.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver Festivals & Events
- Shows & Entertainment Calendar
- Vancouver History and Culture
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Historical Chinatown Tours
Note: Photos in this article (including the one at the top of this page but not any with the Vancouver’s Best Places logo or the one of The Sojourners), are by David Cooper.
